After a week of speculation about what the future holds for Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels after he suffered another dislocated elbow, general manager Adam Peters brought positive news.
During his weekly appearance on 106.7 The Fan, the front-office leader was inevitably asked about Daniels' plan after another cruel setback. Information had been sketchy up to this point, but Peters said the Commanders aren't considering surgery and haven't discussed the possibility of the Arizona State product going to injured reserve, either.
So, basically the same approach as last year. And everyone in the building will be hoping for a better result in the end.
“He met with doctors all over the country. We got a lot of good opinions. As of right now, surgery is not on the table and we haven’t discussed IR.”
Commanders are taking things one week at a time wiith Jayden Daniels
The Commanders and Daniels have left nothing to chance here. He's spent the week consulting with leading experts, and their opinions have been crucial. But with the signal-caller pushing hard to play and Washington under immense pressure to turn things around, this will now be a week-to-week deal once again.
That will bring added scrutiny at the start of every game week. With the Commanders expected to struggle without Daniels, it'll raise urgency if results continue to falter. But it's a better scenario than surgery or injured reserve.
For now, at least.
If there were any doubts about Daniels' long-term health, the prognosis might be different. This is also not his throwing arm, which helps a lot. Nobody expects the signal-caller back for their international game against the Indianapolis Colts, but if he isn't going to injured reserve, returning in Week 5 against the New York Giants looks plausible.
Unfortunately, the Commanders might be 0-4 by then.
This invokes memories of last season.
Commanders cannot afford another 2025 repeat with Jayden Daniels
The Commanders didn't do anything with Daniels, giving him the freedom to dictate when he could return, with the advice of Washington's medical staff. But when he did get back on the field against the Minnesota Vikings, one hard call was all it took to aggravate the problem.
And that was the last anyone saw of Daniels in 2025.
There is no risk-free path here. Daniels could have hurt it again next season even with surgery. He'll probably have to deal with this throughout his career now, so putting on the brace and trying to make the best out of a bad situation is entirely feasible.
But if Daniels injures the elbow again, finger-pointing won't take long.
That's the glass-half-empty outlook. Daniels wants to play, and that's the end of it. And he obviously feels comfortable enough after the doctors' positive assessments.
But for the Commanders, this is all about how best they can mitigate it.
The scheme will change when Daniels gets back. He can't go out running the football with the freedom to improvise. Sitting in the pocket, getting the football out quickly, and relying on his pass-catchers is crucial. And if the Commanders need yards on the ground, their running backs have to step up and help.
This feels like Groundhog Day. But it could have been a lot worse for Daniels.
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